Thoughts, reflections, views and news from the Chief Executive

Month: August 2014

An exciting few weeks ahead as appointments are made to a number of senior posts in the structure developed by the Corporate Management Team and agreed by the City Council.

Next week sees the assessment centre and interview process for the new post of Chief Officer, Adult Health and Social Care – an appointment shared with NHS Grampian.

Today we’ve advertised six posts, the Director of Corporate Governance and five Heads of Service. Check out the dedicated microsite here http://goo.gl/fYU9UK and if you feel you have the required skills and experience, if the challenges of the Shaping Aberdeen agenda excite you and if you see yourself playing an active and leading role in the Council’s senior team make sure you have your application in by the closing date of 22 September.

It can’t have escaped your notice that polling day for the Scottish Independence Referendum is rapidly approaching.

David Gow and the Elections Unit are putting in place all the necessary arrangements for Aberdeen’s 224 polling stations and our count venue at RGU:Sport. A team of over 850 staff has now been assembled in order to deliver the referendum in the City.

The first distribution of some 35,000 ballot paper packs to those registered for a postal vote began on Tuesday this week and we received our first call on Wednesday morning from a concerned voter needing clarification on how to deal with the paperwork. Voting is underway! We’ll be processing postal ballots at the Town House in the run up to 18th September.

I fully appreciate that while many of us have a direct role to play in delivering the referendum, many more colleagues do not. However, it is important for all of us working for the Council to recognise that we are now within the 28 day pre-poll period and under the terms of the legislation that established the referendum there are a number of onerous obligations placed on us not to promote or express support for either side of the campaign. There is a guidance note for all staff available on the Council’s website http://goo.gl/kkQuIY and I ask you and your colleagues to remind yourself of the do’s and don’ts particularly in relation to wearing badges etc. at work and displaying promotional materials in or on Council property (both major don’ts!).

If you have any concerns or questions about any of the guidance please speak to your line manager. Ciaran Monaghan in OCE will also provide advice on issues raised.

The first Council meeting after the recess has taken place today, schools went back this week and given the weather we’re having at the moment you’d be forgiven for thinking that autumn has already arrived. If you’ve already had a summer holiday, I hope it was a good one and you were able to recharge the batteries in the company of family or friends. If you’re still to have your break, enjoy and remember us back here at work wondering whether or not to put the heating on.

As ever, there is of course plenty to do over the coming weeks and months. The members today agreed the recommendations for the second phase of the restructure and work now begins both on filling Heads of Service posts and working up proposals for the third phase which will be taken back to committee for approval within two cycles. Please do take the opportunity to get involved in helping to shape the proposals. The revised committee structure has also been agreed today and it will be introduced from 8th October. As I’ve said before, I’m very keen to move on from discussion about structure to concentrate on working with you to build a culture within the Council that sees us support each other in providing the very best outcomes for the people of Aberdeen. Watch this space, as they say!

It’s shaping up to be an exciting week for the council, as we embark on Shaping Aberdeen – a new plan to promote the developments and improvements we are delivering for the city.

Shaping Aberdeen emphasises the key priorities identified in the Strategic Infrastructure Plan: housing, transport, connectivity, city image, and skills. We will use it to highlight significant new developments to Aberdeen residents and businesses.

Shaping Aberdeen is a long-term plan building on established strong foundations, demonstrating the city’s strengths and ongoing improvement, with residents in mind. I think it is very important that we communicate directly with the people of Aberdeen to show them what we are doing to improve the city and build on its successes.

I want to make sure the people of Aberdeen and visitors to the city are informed about how the public pound is being spent and can see at a glance what’s happening in the city as it continues to grow, develop and regenerate.

Shaping Aberdeen is a new way of communicating with the city and we’ll be using a range of means, including social media, the mainstream media, email, and an exciting marketing campaign to get our message across. You’ll soon see a range of messages appearing across the city.